Magma (band)
| current_members = Christian Vander Stella Vander Isabelle Feuillebois Rudy Blas Benoit Alziary Hervé Aknin Jérome Martineau-Ricotti Philippe Bussonnet | past_members = Francis Moze Jannick "Janik" Top Klaus Blasquiz Didier Lockwood Bernard Paganotti Benoît Widemann Teddy Lasry Himiko Paganotti Antoine Paganotti Emmanuel Borghi Bruno Ruder Laurent Thibault Jérémie Ternoy Jim Grandcamp James MacGaw }} Magma are a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a group of people fleeing a doomed Earth to settle on the planet Kobaïa. Later, conflict arises when the Kobaïans—descendants of the original colonists—encounter other Earth refugees. Vander invented a constructed language, Kobaïan, in which most lyrics are sung. In a 1977 interview with Vander and long-time Magma vocalist Klaus Blasquiz, Blasquiz said that Kobaïan is a "phonetic language made by elements of the Slavonic and Germanic languages to be able to express some things musically. The language has of course a content, but not word by word." Vander himself has said that, "When I wrote, the sounds Kobaïan came naturally with it—I didn’t intellectualise the process by saying 'Ok, now I’m going to write some words in a particular language', it was really sounds that were coming at the same time as the music." Later albums tell different stories set in more ancient times; however, the Kobaïan language remains an integral part of the music. In 1986, the French label Seventh Records was founded in order to (re-)publish Magma's and Vander's work. Over the years, Seventh has also released albums by related artists such as Stella Vander, Patrick Gauthier and Collectif Mu. Legacy The band is widely considered to be musically adventurous and imaginative among music critics. Magma makes extensive use of the choral format, particularly reminiscent of the classical composer Carl Orff. Magma's music is also highly influenced by jazz saxophone player John Coltrane, and Vander has said that "it is still Coltrane who actually gives me the real material to work on, to be able to move on". So many of the musicians who have played with Magma have formed their own solo projects and/or spinoff acts that the Kobaïan term Zeuhl has come to refer to the musical style of these bands and the French jazz fusion/symphonic rock scene that grew around them. Besides Christian Vander, other well-known Magma alumni include the violinist Didier Lockwood, bassist-composer Jannick "Janik" Top, and spinoff act Weidorje. Critical reception The band has a number of high-profile fans. Punk rock singer Johnny Rotten, prolific metal musician Kristoffer Rygg, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, and Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, and Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky have all stated their admiration of the band. In the 1980s, British World champion snooker player Steve Davis declared himself a passionate follower of the band since his youth and used some of his winnings to promote a series of concerts by Magma in London. Television journalist Antoine de Caunes wrote a biography of the band entitled Magma. Controversy Magma has been criticized for supposedly embracing fascist aesthetics and ideology in their art, accusations the band has called a "myth" and attributed to journalistic misrepresentations of their performance style. However, in an interview with Richie Unterberger, Gong's Daevid Allen remembered that Christian Vander "had swastika flags all over his bedroom and pictures of Hitler and would leap up and do kind of imitation Hitler speeches in the middle of his drum solo". Vander has also been under attack for a 1970 interview in which he had described the people of India and Africa as "degenerates". Likewise, a quote distributed on various Magma products and attributed to "J.G." was likened to lines from the Horst-Wessel-Lied and "J.G." interpreted as "Joseph Goebbels". Christian Vander claimed he had copied the quote from a friend's notebook. Discography Studio albums * 1970: Magma (reissued as Kobaïa) * 1971: 1001° Centigrades * 1973: Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh initial copies of the CD included a vinyl rip of the album with a different version of the album as a bonus track * 1974: Ẁurdah Ïtah (originally released as 'Tristan & Iseult' by Christian Vander) * 1974: Köhntarkösz initial copies of the CD included a vinyl rip of the album with a different version of the album as a bonus track * 1976: Üdü Ẁüdü * 1978: Attahk * 1984: Merci * 2004: K.A. (Köhntarkösz Anteria) * 2009: Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré (CD + DVD) * 2012: Félicité Thösz * 2014: Rïah Sahïltaahk * 2015: Šlaǧ Tanƶ Live albums * 1975: Live/Hhaï * 1977: Inédits * 1981: Retrospektïẁ (Parts I+II) * 1981: Retrospektïẁ (Part III) * 1989: Akt X: Mekanïk Kommandöh (earlier studio recording of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh from 1973) from the bonus track mentioned above * 1992: Akt I: Les Voix de Magma (from August 2, 1992 at Douarnenez) * 1994: Akt IV: Theatre Du Taur Concert, 1975 (from September 27, 1975) * 1995: Akt V: Concert Bobino 1981 (from May 16, 1981) * 1996: Akt VIII: Bruxelles 1971 (from November 12, 1971 at Theatre 140) * 1996: Akt IX: Opéra De Reims, 1976 (from March 2, 1976) * 1999: Akt XIII: BBC 1974 Londres (from March 14, 1974 at the London BBC studios) * 2001: Trilogie Theusz Hamtaahk (Concert du Trianon), CD + DVD * 2008: Akt XV: Bourges, 1979 (from April 17, 1979) * 2009: Live in Tokyo 2005 * 2014: Zühn Wöhl Ünsai - Live 1974 (2 CD; Radio Bremen recordings) EPs * 1998: Floë Ëssi/Ëktah * 2014: Rïah Sahïltaahk * 2015: Šlaǧ Tanƶ Compilations/Boxsets/Other material * 1972: The Unnamables (studio album released under the alias 'Univeria Zekt') * 1986: Mythes et Légendes Vol. I (compilation) * 1992: Akt II: Sons: Document 1973 (recorded in 1973 at Le Manor, featuring a scaled-back line-up of Christian Vander, Klaus Blasquiz, Jannick Top and René Garber) * 1997: Kompila * 1998: Simples * 2008: Archiẁ I & II (included in the "Studio Zünd: 40 Ans d'Evolution" boxset) * 2008: Studio Zünd: 40 Ans d'Evolution (12 disc box set, includes Kobaïa to K.A. plus Archiẁ I & II) * 2015: Kohnzert Zund (12 CD; Live recordings, from 'Magma Live' to 'Trilogie Au Trianon' plus 'Triton Zund' and 'Alhambra 2009' ) Videos * 1995: Akt VI: Concert Bobino 1981 (DVD) also released on VHS video cassette * 2001: Trilogie Theusz Hamtaahk (Concert du Trianon), CD + DVD * 2006: Mythes et Légendes Epok 1, DVD * 2006: Mythes et Légendes Epok 2, DVD * 2007: Mythes et Légendes Epok 3, DVD * 2008: Mythes et Légendes Epok 4, DVD * 2013: Mythes et Légendes Epok 5, DVD Personnel at Roadburn Festival 2017]] Members Magma has been the birthplace of many French jazz musicians. We can cite: * Violinist Didier Lockwood * Guitarists Claude Engel, Claude Olmos, Gabriel Federow, Marc Fosset, James MacGaw, Jean-Luc Chevalier (actuel guitariste du groupe Tri Yann), Jim Grandcamp and Rudy Blas * Bassists Jannick Top, Bernard Paganotti, Guy Delacroix, Francis Moze, Laurent Thibault, Michel Hervé, Dominique Bertram, Marc Éliard (actuel bassiste du groupe Indochine), Philippe Bussonnet * Keyboardists Benoît Widemann, Michel Graillier, Gérard Bikialo, Jean Luc Manderlier, François "Faton" Cahen (ancien leader du groupe Zao), Guy Khalifa, Sofia Domancich, Patrick Gauthier, Simon Goubert, Pierre-Michel Sivadier, Jean Pol Asseline, Jean Pierre Fouquey, Frédéric D'Oelsnitz, Benoît Alziari (plus vibraphone and Theremin), Emmanuel Borghi, Bruno Ruder * Saxophonists Teddy Lasry, Richard Raux, Alain Guillard, René Garber and Yochk’o Seffer * Trumpeters Louis Toesca and Yvon Guillard * Male vocalists Klaus Blasquiz, Christian Vander, Guy Khalifa, Antoine Paganotti and Hervé Aknin * Female vocalists Stella Vander, Isabelle Feuillebois, Maria Popkiewicz, Liza de Luxe, Himiko Paganotti and Sandrine Fougère * Drummers and percussionists Christian Vander, Michel Garrec, Doudou Weiss, Simon Goubert, Clément Bailly, Claude Salmiéri and François Laizeau.Les Musiciens de la Zeuhl : http://robert.guillerault.free.fr/magma/index2.htm Timeline ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:15 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:80 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1969 till:31/12/2016 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:lead value:teal legend:Lead guitar id:guitar value:green legend:Rhythm guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:doublebass value:rgb(0.10, 0.10, 0.90) legend:Double_bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:percu value:rgb(0.70, 0.50, 0.20) legend:Percussions id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:sax value:claret legend:Saxophone id:trump value:yellow legend:Trumpet id:violon value:pink legend:Violin id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_album_release Legend = position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1969 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1970 BarData = bar:Christian text:"Christian Vander" bar:MarcD text:"Marc Delouya" bar:Jean-C text:"Jean-Claude Buire" bar:Lucien text:"Lucien Zabuski" bar:Klaus text:"Klaus Blasquiz" bar:Stella text:"Stella Vander" bar:Julie text:"Julie Vander" bar:Isabelle text:"Isabelle Feuillebois" bar:Addie text:"Addie Déat" bar:Jean-Fr text:"Jean-François Déat" bar:Antoine text:"Antoine Paganotti" bar:Liza text:"Liza Deluxe" bar:Flo text:"Florence Bertaux" bar:Maria text:"Maria Popkiewicz" bar:Jean-Jac text:"Jean-Jacques Ferry" bar:Eric text:"Eric Grimbert" bar:Claude text:"Claude Engel" bar:Marc text:"Marc Fosset" bar:Claude2 text:"Claude Olmos" bar:Gabriel text:"Gabriel Federow" bar:Jean-Luc2 text:"Jean-Luc Chevalier" bar:Jean text:"Jean De Antoni" bar:Jean-Michel text:"Jean-Michel Kajdan" bar:Franck text:"Franck Vedel" bar:Laurent text:"Laurent Thibault" bar:Jacky text:"Jacky Vidal" bar:Francis text:"Francis Moze" bar:Jean-Pierre text:"Jean-Pierre Lembert" bar:Jannick text:"Jannick Top" bar:Bernard text:"Bernard Paganotti" bar:Guy2 text:"Guy Delacroix" bar:Dominique text:"Dominique Bertram" bar:Michel2 text:"Michel Hervé" bar:MarcE text:"Marc Éliard" bar:Jean-Marc text:"Jean-Marc Duroure" bar:Philippe text:"Philippe Dardelle" bar:Michel text:"Michel Graillier" bar:Eddy text:"Eddy Rabbin" bar:Faton text:"Faton Cahen" bar:Jean-Luc text:"Jean-Luc Manderlier" bar:Gérard text:"Gérard Bikialo" bar:Jean-Pol text:"Jean-Pol Asseline" bar:Benoît text:"Benoît Widemann" bar:Patrick text:"Patrick Gauthier" bar:Francis2 text:"Francis Lockwood" bar:André text:"André Hervé" bar:Emmanuel text:"Emmanuel Borghi" bar:Pierre-M text:"Pierre-Michel Sivadier" bar:René text:"René Morizur" bar:René2 text:"René Garber" bar:Richard text:"Richard Raux" bar:Jeff text:"Jeff Seffer" bar:Teddy text:"Teddy Lasry" bar:Guy text:"Guy Marco" bar:Paco text:"Paco Charlery" bar:Louis text:"Louis Toesca" bar:Didier text:"Didier Lockwood" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Lucien from:01/01/1969 till:01/08/1969 color:vocals bar:Klaus from:01/09/1969 till:01/09/1976 color:vocals bar:Klaus from:01/11/1976 till:01/02/1979 color:vocals bar:Klaus from:01/01/1980 till:01/10/1980 color:vocals bar:Klaus from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1990 color:vocals bar:Klaus from:01/01/1992 till:31/12/1992 color:vocals bar:Stella from:31/12/1972 till:01/09/1976 color:vocals bar:Stella from:01/11/1976 till:01/02/1979 color:vocals bar:Stella from:01/06/1979 till:01/02/1985 color:vocals bar:Stella from:01/02/1990 till:end color:vocals bar:Julie from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1991 color:vocals bar:Julie from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1996 color:vocals bar:Julie from:12/05/2000 till:14/05/2000 color:vocals bar:Isabelle from:01/02/1990 till:end color:vocals bar:Addie from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1991 color:vocals bar:Jean-Fr from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1990 color:vocals bar:Jean-Fr from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 color:vocals bar:Antoine from:01/01/1999 till:11/02/2008 color:vocals bar:Liza from:01/03/1976 till:01/09/1976 color:vocals bar:Liza from:01/06/1977 till:01/02/1979 color:vocals bar:Liza from:01/01/1980 till:31/12/1984 color:vocals bar:Flo from:01/01/1977 till:01/06/1977 color:vocals bar:Jean-Jac from:01/01/1969 till:01/04/1969 color:guitar bar:Eric from:01/01/1969 till:01/04/1969 color:guitar bar:Claude from:01/04/1969 till:01/12/1971 color:guitar bar:Claude from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:guitar bar:Marc from:15/01/1973 till:01/03/1973 color:guitar bar:Claude2 from:15/01/1973 till:01/08/1974 color:guitar bar:Jean-Luc2 from:01/06/1978 till:01/02/1979 color:guitar bar:Jean-Luc2 from:01/06/1979 till:01/12/1979 color:guitar bar:Jean-Luc2 from:01/01/1980 till:01/01/1985 color:guitar bar:Franck from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1990 color:guitar bar:Franck from:01/07/1996 till:01/10/1997 color:guitar bar:Laurent from:01/01/1969 till:01/01/1970 color:bass bar:Jacky from:01/09/1969 till:01/01/1970 color:bass bar:Francis from:01/01/1970 till:31/12/1970 color:bass bar:Francis from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:bass bar:Francis from:01/10/1984 till:01/02/1985 color:bass bar:Jean-Pierre from:31/12/1972 till:01/03/1973 color:bass bar:Bernard from:01/01/1975 till:01/09/1976 color:bass bar:Bernard from:01/11/1976 till:01/01/1977 color:bass bar:Bernard from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:bass bar:Jannick from:01/03/1973 till:01/11/1974 color:bass bar:Jannick from:01/03/1976 till:01/09/1976 color:bass bar:Jannick from:01/10/1980 till:01/06/1981 color:bass bar:Christian from:01/01/1969 till:01/09/1976 color:drums bar:Christian from:01/11/1976 till:01/02/1979 color:drums bar:Christian from:01/06/1979 till:01/02/1985 color:drums bar:Christian from:01/02/1990 till:end color:drums bar:MarcD from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1990 color:drums bar:Jean-C from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1990 color:percu bar:Francis from:01/01/1969 till:01/04/1969 color:keys bar:Eddy from:01/04/1969 till:01/09/1969 color:keys bar:Faton from:01/09/1969 till:31/12/1972 color:keys bar:Faton from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:keys bar:Jean-Luc from:31/12/1971 till:01/05/1973 color:keys bar:Michel from:31/12/1972 till:15/01/1973 color:keys bar:Michel from:01/05/1973 till:31/12/1973 color:keys bar:Michel from:01/03/1969 till:01/09/1976 color:keys bar:Michel from:01/06/1982 till:01/10/1983 color:keys bar:Gérard from:15/01/1973 till:01/03/1973 color:keys bar:Gérard from:01/03/1974 till:01/08/1974 color:keys bar:Jean-Pol from:01/09/1974 till:01/08/1975 color:keys bar:Jean-Pol from:01/11/1976 till:01/01/1977 color:keys bar:Benoît from:01/09/1974 till:01/09/1976 color:keys bar:Benoît from:01/11/1976 till:01/06/1978 color:keys bar:Benoît from:01/06/1979 till:01/06/1982 color:keys bar:Patrick from:01/09/1975 till:01/09/1976 color:keys bar:Patrick from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:keys bar:Patrick from:01/06/1981 till:01/06/1982 color:keys bar:Patrick from:01/01/1983 till:01/12/1983 color:keys bar:Patrick from:01/01/1992 till:01/07/1992 color:keys bar:Guy from:01/04/1969 till:01/09/1969 color:trump bar:Paco from:01/09/1969 till:01/08/1970 color:trump bar:Paco from:01/09/1969 till:01/08/1970 color:trump bar:Louis from:15/01/1971 till:31/12/1972 color:trump bar:Louis from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:trump bar:René from:01/04/1969 till:01/09/1969 color:sax bar:René2 from:01/04/1969 till:01/09/1976 color:sax bar:René2 from:01/11/1976 till:01/02/1979 color:sax bar:René2 from:01/06/1979 till:01/10/1984 color:sax bar:Richard from:01/09/1969 till:01/08/1970 color:sax bar:Richard from:01/10/1980 till:01/06/1981 color:sax bar:Jeff from:01/08/1970 till:31/12/1972 color:sax bar:Jeff from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:sax bar:Teddy from:01/01/1970 till:31/12/1972 color:sax bar:Teddy from:01/03/1973 till:01/08/1974 color:sax bar:Teddy from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:sax bar:Gabriel from:01/09/1974 till:01/09/1976 color:guitar bar:Gabriel from:01/11/1976 till:01/01/1977 color:guitar bar:Gabriel from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:guitar bar:Didier from:01/09/1974 till:01/09/1976 color:violon bar:Didier from:01/06/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:violon bar:Didier from:01/01/1992 till:31/12/1992 color:violon bar:Didier from:01/01/1992 till:01/07/1992 color:violon bar:Jean from:01/01/1977 till:31/12/1977 color:guitar bar:Jean from:01/06/1979 till:31/12/1979 color:guitar bar:Guy2 from:01/01/1977 till:01/02/1979 color:bass bar:Guy2 from:01/10/1984 till:01/02/1985 color:bass bar:André from:01/06/1978 till:01/02/1979 color:keys bar:André from:01/06/1979 till:31/12/1979 color:keys bar:Emmanuel from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1991 color:keys bar:Emmanuel from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1996 color:keys bar:Emmanuel from:01/10/1997 till:31/12/2008 color:keys bar:Pierre-M from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1991 color:keys bar:Pierre-M from:01/07/1992 till:31/12/1998 color:keys bar:Maria from:01/06/1978 till:01/02/1979 color:vocals bar:Maria from:01/06/1979 till:01/02/1983 color:vocals bar:Dominique from:01/10/1979 till:01/02/1985 color:bass bar:Francis2 from:01/10/1979 till:01/06/1980 color:keys bar:Francis2 from:01/10/1980 till:01/06/1981 color:keys bar:Michel2 from:01/10/1979 till:01/06/1980 color:bass bar:MarcE from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1990 color:bass bar:Jean-Marc from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1990 color:bass bar:Philippe from:01/02/1990 till:31/12/1990 color:doublebass bar:Philippe from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1996 color:doublebass bar:Jean-Michel from:01/10/1979 till:01/02/1980 color:guitar bar:Jean-Michel from:01/10/1980 till:01/02/1982 color:guitar LineData = at:01/01/1970 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1971 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1973 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1974 color:black layer:back at:01/08/1974 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1976 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1978 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1984 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2004 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2004 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2009 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2012 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2014 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2015 color:black layer:back See also * Romantic Warriors II: A Progressive Music Saga About Rock in Opposition References External links * Seventh Records, Christian Vander's record label * Utopic Records, Jannick Top's record label * * Category:French progressive rock groups Category:Jazz fusion ensembles Category:Musical groups established in 1969 Category:Zeuhl